Police teams in Sussex to merge resources as part of new model

Police in Sussex will work from larger teams covering a wider area as part of plans to reassign officers ‘to where they are most needed’.

As part of the new local policing programme, individual policing teams will merge resources with units based in neighbouring districts.

In West Sussex, the policing teams in Arun and Chichester were the first to combine their resources.

Worthing and Adur will merge with Horsham, while Crawley and Mid Sussex will share one policing team in the future.

Assistant chief constable Robin Smith said: “A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to establish our new Sussex local policing model and I’m confident that these plans for new ways of working will enable the force to meet competing demands while continuing to protect the public.

“There are significant ways in which we are transforming local policing over the next four years. We have promised that we will keep the public informed at every stage of the way.

“We have come up with a timeline that explains what will happen and when and we are sharing this with our officers and staff, and partners who will be working closely to create the design and identify opportunities.

“The changes will ensure our services are directed to where they are most needed.

“We will always focus on the needs of those who are the most vulnerable and we will always be there when you need us in an emergency, when you face significant risk and harm.”

After unveiling its vision for policing three months ago, the force now has a timetable of work that will look in detail at what services will be delivered, where officers and staff will work and what they will do.

The aim of the model is to deliver policing more effectively by embracing technology and multi-agency working, reducing cost and engaging with the public in a way that suits both them and the police better, a police spokesperson said.

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